System for provisioning media services

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring order fulfillment of telecommunication services is disclosed. An apparatus that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a monitoring system having a controller element that submits a correlation ID to a service orchestration system (SOS) that manages one or more order fulfillment systems (OFSs) that collectively fulfill a select one of a plurality of telecommunication service orders according to a plurality of intermediate fulfillment steps, receives from the SOS information associated with the plurality of intermediate fulfillment steps tagged with the correlation ID, records said information according to the correlation ID, and collects correlated fulfillment activity for the plurality of telecommunication service orders from a plurality of iterations of the foregoing steps. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to media services, and more specifically to a system for provisioning media services.

BACKGROUND

Deployment of Set-Top Boxes (STBs) in residences and commercial enterprises to enable presentation of media services on one or more media devices such as a plasma TV, a desktop computer or otherwise requires tedious installation for field technicians. Usually, a field technician needs to perform a number of provisioning steps to enable media services on an STB. The time spent to install such devices can be time consuming and costly to service providers.

A need therefore arises for a system for provisioning media services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication system;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary method operating in portions of the communication system; and

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure provide a system for provisioning media services.

In a first embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium in a Set-Top Box (STB) can have computer instructions for receiving an identifier from a Residential Gateway (RG), submitting the identifier of the RG and a certificate of the STB to an IPTV system, and receiving from the IPTV system provisioning information for enabling presentation of IPTV services at a media device upon authenticating the STB according to the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB.

In a second embodiment of the present disclosure, a Service Startup System (SSS), comprising a controller element that receives from an STB an identifier of an RG, and a certificate associated with the STB for authenticating the STB and for provisioning the STB to receive media services.

In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, a service orchestration system (SOS) can have a controller element that receives from a computing device a request for provisioning information for an STB according to an identifier of an RG and a certificate identifying the STB, and submits said provisioning information to the computing device for provisioning said STB to enable presentation of media services.

In a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure, a media device can have a controller element that receives media services from an STB enabled to deliver said media services upon being authenticated and provisioned according to a certificate that identifies the STB and an identifier of an RG.

In a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure, an authentication system can have a controller element that authenticates an STB according to a certificate that identifies the STB and an identifier of an RG, each supplied by the STB.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication system 100. The communication system 100 can comprise a media system 112, a Service Startup System (SSS) 114, an authentication system 116 and a Service Orchestration System (SOS) 118 coupled to a communication network 101 having common network elements that support wireline and/or wireless packet and/or circuit switched communication access technologies (e.g., PSTN, cable, xDSL, Ethernet, CDMA, GSM, Software Defined Radio, Ultra Wide Band, WiMax, etc.).

The media system 112 can represent an analog multimedia service system and/or digital multimedia service system such as presented by satellite, cable, and telecommunication service providers. Multimedia services can include without limitation voice, moving images (e.g., high definition, standard or streaming video), still images (e.g., JPEGs), audio entertainment (e.g., MP3, or streaming audio), or any form of data services. A portion of digital multimedia services can be presented by way of a common IPTV system which can deliver television and/or video signals distributed to consumers by way of a broadband connection to a residence or commercial establishment (“property”) 102 as shown in FIG. 1. The property 102 can include a common residential gateway (RG) 104 that exchanges unicast or multicast signals with the media system 112 over the communication network 101 and distributes a portion of said signals to one or more Set-Top Boxes (STBs) 106 used for presenting multimedia services to a media device 108 such as a computer, or analog or digital television (e.g., plasma TV).

To assist in the installation of STBs 106 at the property 102, the media system 112 can direct installation requests to the SSS 114, the authentication system 116, and the SOS 118. Systems 114, 116 and 118 can operate independently from the media system 112, or can be combined with one another and the media system 112. Accordingly the media system 112 and said systems 114, 116 and 118 can be centralized or decentralized (as shown in FIG. 1) without departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

With these principles in mind, FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary method 200 operating in portions of the communication system 100. Method 200 begins with step 201 in which an agent 110 creates a media services order (MSO) directed by a customer desiring to install multimedia services in property 102. The MSO is recorded and processed by the SOS 118 which orchestrates provisioning of said service at a time when installation of an STB 106 takes place. Once the MSO is entered, a field technician is also assigned to deliver one or more STBs 106 to the requesting customer. Alternatively, the customer can be asked to pick up the STBs 106, or said STBs 106 can be delivered by a courier. Once the STBs 106 have arrived, they are installed to a common broadband connection (e.g., cable, xDSL, or fiber) in the property 102 and powered up in step 202.

After the STB 106 has completed a power cycle, it proceeds to step 204 where it retrieves a static IP address from the RG 104 in the property 102. The RG 104 is assigned the static IP address by the SOS 118 or other suitable system at the time of installation in the property. The SOS 118 associates the static IP address with the location of the property 102 to track the location of the RG 102. Accordingly, the static IP address supplied by a requesting STB 106 serves to locate the STB relative to the property 102. Alternatively or in combination, the STB 106 can be programmed to retrieve the MAC address of the RG 104. The MAC address is also a unique identifier for the RG 104 which can be stored in the SOS 118 and associated with the property 102.

In step 206, the STB 106 can further retrieve a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate that includes a unique identifier of the STB. The unique identifier can be an alphanumeric character sequence created by the manufacturer of the STB 106 or provided by the service provider of the media system 112. To avoid identity theft, the alphanumeric sequence can be a unique identifier created for the STB 106 that cannot be readily disclosed by viewing or tampering with the STB unit. Alternatively or in combination, the MAC address of the STB 106 can be included in the PKI certificate. However, in this latter embodiment if the MAC address is exposed by the housing assembly of the STB 106, tampering may be more likely. The PKI certificate including either of these embodiments utilizes common encryption technology to minimize a possibility of identity theft.

In step 208, the STB 106 submits the IP address of the RG 104 and the certificate of the STB to the media system 112. The media system 112 in step 210 submits said identifiers to the SSS 114 to perform authentication and if necessary provisioning of the requesting STB 106. The SSS 114 in step 212 submits the identifiers to the authentication system 116. The authentication system 116 can utilize a common authentication protocol such as AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) to perform an authentication process. For ease of storage and rapid retrieval, the authentication system 116 can store authentication information associated with an STB 106 according to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). In the case of un-provisioned STBs 106, the authentication system 116 can be programmed to initially store a complementary copy of the certificate of each STB without related customer information. Storage of this certificate can take place at the time that the STB 106 is manufactured, or when it is deployed for consumer use.

The certificate can thus be used by the authentication system 116 as a secure means to verify in step 214 that the requesting STB 106 is a legitimate device managed by the service provider of the media system 112. If the device is not recognized, the authentication system 116 submits a failure notice to the SSS 114 which conveys this notice in whole or in part to the requesting STB 106, thereby indicating that the authentication process has failed. Thus the certificate can serve as a tool to prevent contraband STBs 106 from receiving multimedia services.

If the STB 106 is recognized as a legitimate device, the authentication system 116 proceeds to step 218 where it determines if the requesting STB 106 is a new device not previously used, or a reused STB. In the former use case, an entry in the database of the authentication system 116 can show a certificate and no associated IP address of an RG 106 since the STB has not been previously used. In the latter use case, there are three possibilities: (1) the STB remains with the same customer and is undergoing a power cycle in the same property (due to, for example, an electrical interruption in the property 102, (2) the STB 106 is being transferred by the same customer to another property 102, or (3) the STB is being transferred between customers to another property.

In the first case, the authentication system 116 detects a match between the IP address supplied by the requesting STB 106 and the IP address stored in the database of the authentication system 116. In this instance, the authentication system 116 can provide the SSS 114 in step 220 a message indicating that the STB 106 has been authenticated and that provisioning is not necessary. The SSS 114 in turn submits a notice to the requesting STB 106 indicating media services are enabled and it can proceed to present such services to end users in the property 102 via a corresponding media device 108 coupled thereto.

The last two scenarios can be identified by a mismatch between the IP address supplied by the requesting STB 106 and the authentication information stored in the authentication system 116. The mismatch can occur as a result of a customer submitting a request to an agent 110 to discontinue media services or to transfer media services to another property 102. Upon receiving a service update request such as this from the agent 110, the SOS 118 can be programmed to direct the authentication system 116 to remove the IP address stored in the database in relation to the affected STB 106. Other suitable alternative methods for detecting a mismatch or a need for provisioning the STB 106 can be applied to the operations of the authentication system 116. Once the authentication system 116 informs the SSS 114 that there is a need for provisioning, the SSS in step 222 submits a request to the SOS 118 for provisioning information for the requesting STB 106 according to the static IP address and certificate supplied by the STB 106

In step 224, the SSS 114 receives the provisioning information from the SOS 118 and proceeds to direct the authentication system 116 to store said provisioning information in its database for future use if needed. The SSS 114 then provisions the STB 106 in step 226 with the provisioning information supplied by the SOS 118 and notifies the STB after completion of the provisioning process that it can proceed to process media services supplied by the media system 112. During the time that media services are enabled, the media system 112 in step 228 can be programmed to submit period tokens (e.g., every 8 hours) to the STB 106 for authentication purposes. The tokens are then utilized by the STB 106 in step 230 to maintain enablement of the media services by authenticating itself with the media system 112. The tokens can represent dynamic passwords that change over the course of time similar to devices used by computer users attempting to securely log into an enterprise system's IT network. Thus steps 228 and 230 provide a service provider of the media system 112 added security for preventing tampering and/or altering of STBs 106.

Method 200 as presently described provides service providers of media services an automated means to install STBs 106 in homes or commercial enterprises with minimal or no effort on the part of a customer or field technicians assigned to perform the installation. Method 200 further provides a means to perform the installation process under a secure method that helps to prevent tampering and counterfeits installation of STBs 106. Consequently, said method improves speed of installation and minimizes if not eliminates the possibility of identity theft, thereby reducing expenses for the service provider of the media system 112 which can benefit its consumers.

Upon reviewing the present disclosure, it would be evident to an artisan with ordinary skill in the art that the aforementioned embodiments can be modified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope and spirit of the claims described below. For example, steps 228-230 of method 200 can be removed without affecting the scope of the present disclosure. Other present and future security techniques for generating certificates can be applied to the present disclosure for assisting in the prevention of identity theft for STBs 106. It should be apparent by these examples that several modifications can be applied to the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the claims stated below. Accordingly, the reader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding of the breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system 300 within which a set of instructions, when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client user machine in server-client user network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will be understood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 300 may include a processor 302 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a main memory 304 and a static memory 306, which communicate with each other via a bus 308. The computer system 300 may further include a video display unit 310 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 300 may include an input device 312 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 314 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 316, a signal generation device 318 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interface device 320.

The disk drive unit 316 may include a machine-readable medium 322 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 324) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 324 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 304, the static memory 306, and/or within the processor 302 during execution thereof by the computer system 300. The main memory 304 and the processor 302 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein are intended for operation as software programs running on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementations can include, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containing instructions 324, or that which receives and executes instructions 324 from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a network environment 326 can send or receive voice, video or data, and to communicate over the network 326 using the instructions 324. The instructions 324 may further be transmitted or received over a network 326 via the network interface device 320.

While the machine-readable medium 322 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile) memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape; and carrier wave signals such as a signal embodying computer instructions in a transmission medium; and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more of a machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein and including art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functions implemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards and protocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments, and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all the elements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use of the structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter. 

1. A computer-readable storage medium in a Set-Top Box (STB), comprising computer instructions for: receiving an identifier from a Residential Gateway (RG); submitting the identifier of the RG and a certificate of the STB to an IPTV system; and receiving from the IPTV system provisioning information for enabling presentation of IPTV services at a media device upon authenticating the STB according to the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB.
 2. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identifier of the RG comprises one among an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the RG, and wherein the storage medium comprises computer instructions for performing one among retrieving and requesting the identifier from the RG.
 3. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the certificate comprises a unique identifier of the STB.
 4. The storage medium of claim 3, wherein the certificate comprises a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate uniquely created for the STB.
 5. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for submitting the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB to an authentication system for authenticating the STB, wherein the authentication system stores authentication information of the STB according to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
 6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein the IPTV system comprises at least one among a Service Startup System (SSS), an authentication system, and a service orchestration system (SOS), wherein one or more of said systems perform in whole or in part the aforementioned authentication and provisioning steps.
 7. The storage medium of claim 1, comprising computer instructions for: receiving at least once from the IPTV system a service token; and utilizing said service token for authentication with the IPTV system, thereby maintaining enablement of said IPTV services.
 8. A Service Startup System (SSS), comprising a controller element that receives from a Set-Top Box (STB) an identifier of a residential gateway (RG), and a certificate associated with the STB for authenticating the STB and for provisioning the STB to receive media services.
 9. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the controller element submits to the STB provisioning information supplied by a service orchestration system (SOS) to enable presentation of media services at a media device.
 10. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the controller element submits the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB to an authentication system for authenticating the STB.
 11. The SSS of claim 10, wherein the controller element receives an indication from the authentication system that the STB is not recognized, and submits to the STB a notice associated with said indication.
 12. The SSS of claim 10, wherein the controller element: receives an indication from the authentication system that the STB is recognized and requires provisioning, requests from a service orchestration system (SOS) provisioning information for the STB, receives the requested provisioning information from the SOS, stores the provisioning information in the authentication system, and submits to the STB a notice that media services have been enabled after the provisioning information has been transferred to the STB.
 13. The SSS of claim 10, wherein the controller element receives an indication from the authentication system that the STB is recognized and provisioned, and submits a notice to the STB that media services have been enabled.
 14. The SSS of claim 10, wherein the authentication system stores the authentication information of the STB according to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
 15. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the identifier of the RG comprises one among an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the RG.
 16. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the certificate comprises a unique identifier of the STB.
 17. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the certificate comprises a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate uniquely created for the STB.
 18. The SSS of claim 8, wherein the media services comprise at least one among digital media services, and analog media services.
 19. A service orchestration system (SOS), comprising a controller element that receives from a computing device a request for provisioning information for a Set-Top Box (STB) according to an identifier of a Residential Gateway (RG) and a certificate identifying the STB, and submits said provisioning information to the computing device for provisioning said STB to enable presentation of media services.
 20. The SOS of claim 19, wherein the computing device comprises a Service Startup System (SSS), and wherein the controller element retrieves the provisioning information from a database according to at least one among the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB.
 21. The SOS of claim 19, wherein the request is generated in response to the STB being authenticated according to the identifier of the RG and the certificate of the STB.
 22. The SOS of claim 21, wherein the STB is authenticated by an authentication system that stores authentication information of the STB according to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
 23. The SOS of claim 19, wherein the identifier of the RG comprises one among an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the RG, and wherein the certificate comprises a unique identifier of the STB.
 24. The SOS of claim 19, wherein the certificate comprises a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate uniquely created for the STB.
 25. The SOS of claim 19, wherein the media services comprise at least one among digital multimedia services, and analog multimedia services.
 26. A media device, comprising a controller element that receives media services from a Set-Top Box (STB) enabled to deliver said media services upon being authenticated and provisioned according to a certificate that identifies the STB and an identifier of a Residential Gateway (RG).
 27. The media device of claim 26, wherein the STB is authenticated by an authentication system that stores authentication information of the STB according to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
 28. The media device of claim 26, wherein the identifier of the RG comprises one among an IP address and a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the RG, and wherein the certificate comprises a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificate uniquely created for the STB.
 29. The media device of claim 26, wherein the media services comprise at least one among digital multimedia services, and analog multimedia services.
 30. The media device of claim 26, wherein the media services comprise IPTV services.
 31. The media device of claim 26, wherein the media device comprises one among a television, and a computing device.
 32. An authentication system, comprising a controller element that authenticates a Set-Top Box (STB) according to a certificate that identifies the STB and an identifier of a Residential Gateway (RG), each of the identifier and the certificate supplied by the STB. 